SMART Anthropology in Agricultural Development Projects: A Framework Toward Developing a More Appropriate Survey

Practicing Anthropology, vol. 47, pp. 78–83

Abstract

In this study, I examine how anthropologists can contribute to agricultural development projects. Practitioners in the development industry typically require anthropologists to conduct surveys within a limited budget and timeframe and to provide appropriate and understandable feedback on the results to various stakeholders, including team members from different disciplines. I propose a SMART Anthropology framework comprising the following criteria: specific (determining the relevant research questions, study site, and sample size considering the project’s time and budget limitations), measurable (systematizing farmers’ knowledge to develop a questionnaire and optimizing questionnaire scores), applicable (collecting and describing specific factors), relevance (emphasizing the historical context of the farmers’ politics), and time-bound (conducting the survey at an appropriate duration for the project). Anthropologist, Dr. Koen Peeters Grietens originally developed the SMART anthropology framework for utilizing anthropological knowledge in the field of international health. Applying his framework, I posit that SMART Anthropology in agricultural development will make practical contributions to the existing research through the social implementation of the developed technologies.

Authors 1

1. Fuki Yagi corresponding Aachen Visiting Researcher Department of Cross-Field Research

   National Museum of Ethnology · National Museum of Ethnology

   Affiliation as printed

   Visiting Researcher, Department of Cross-Field Research, National Museum of Ethnology

   Visiting Researcher, Department of Cross-Field Research, National Museum of Ethnology, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan